Federer and Paganini

Interesting article at Big W site:
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Yet his overall fitness remains supreme, even if his elegance of movement means few appreciate just how fit he is. He seldom gets injured and is phenomenally quick around the court.

Much of the credit for that goes to his fitness trainer Pierre Paganini, a 51-year-old former decathlete and football player, who has been working with Federer on and off for more than 10 years.

They met when Paganini ran the physical side of the Tennis Études academy for promising young players in Lausanne, where Federer went as a 14 year old.

In 2000, feeling the need for some professional back-up to help him to the top of the game, Federer enlisted Paganini’s help for 100 days a year.

Paganini only agreed to work with Federer if he was allowed to shape the player’s tournament schedule and diet, as well as run the physical fitness sessions.

Paganini normally takes Federer out of the tennis circuit for three blocks of three weeks each year, doing gym work, on-court exercises and specific physiotherapeutic training to prevent injuries.

This year, they worked slightly differently, with Paganini taking Federer for four blocks of four days in December, February, March and April, with the aim of having him in peak fitness for the final weekend of the French Open.